My Family of Hunters
by Neikod
Summary: Set in the world of The last of Us, a 15 year old boy named Harry is born into a group of people who call themselves "The Hunters". The reason for this is unknown to him for 15 years. The year is 2033 in Pittsburgh. Confined by the tall walls of the compound he called home for most of his life, realizing his group's intentions he is set out on the journey of his life.
1. Our Little Group

Chapter 1:

Our Little Group

"So what do you reckon then?" the skinny pale man in the corner muttered from his sun-burnt lips. "I doubt we can just walk ourselves in there without a whole damn tidal wave of bullets showering us from the other side." A large, worn man arose from his makeshift chair and emerged out of the shadows to join in the conversation. He held a rusty butcher's knife in one hand and a half empty bottle of whisky in the other.

"The hell you talking about Travis," he muttered as he launched the butchers knife into the side of the wall, "I been there enough times for thousands o' people to get killed if what you says is true." He limped towards a table in the centre of the room which was dimly lit with a single light bulb that flickered with every step he took. The man was old and had definitely seen better years. He'd definitely seen better showers too as the stench emitted from his body was almost visible. To the other men, he was the muscle of the group. The brawler. Though, most just knew him as good ol' Fred.

"I'm not buyin' it," Travis rejected. He wasn't so old, though his looks definitely told a different story. Years of sitting out in the boiling sun had not done him well and his skin had become wrinkled and dry. All that sitting around also managed to transform him into a living stick, that alongside the lack of food they had been receiving.

"Damn it Travis! You've barely set a foot outside the compound!" Fred muttered. He chewed whatever was in his mouth and spat it out in the middle of the cold, wooden floor ready to continue his accusations. Before he could, however, another man stood up from his chair near the door and stepped into the somewhat burning light coming from the fluorescent bulb.

"Y-You-You're all a pack of-f fuckin'... idiots!" The man wheezed as he coughed on alcohol still present in his throat. He held an empty bottle of rum which he soon discarded after looking at it confusedly. The others generally knew him as the drunk of the group. He rarely was committed to doing anything to help in any way and usually remained in a slumber surrounded by empty bottles of various different beverages. He was Jerry, and although he didn't look like much he was still part of the group. "If I h-had a penny for ev-every time you guys f-fucked up," he began counting his fingers as if he was a toddler, "I'd have, s-seven!" He stumbled across the room, tripping over his own feet in an attempt to reach the doorway but soon fell flat on his face. The whole room was filled with laughter, even from Jerry himself.

"Jerry, you're a fuckin' drunk, no doubt about it neither," Travis said as he stood up and marched over to help the poor man up. His skinny legs shook and his face became red as he attempted to stand Jerry up. Right at that moment a faint sound of footsteps approached the door. Travis dropped Jerry in an instant, leaving Jerry to fall first on the cold wood. Travis lifted his skinny hands and attempted to grab the handgun he had put in his top pocket. Why he put it there, the others didn't know. Something to do with all the time he had spent inside. He lifted the gun out of his pocket and aimed it at the door way ready to fire but he was stopped in his tracks when he heard the gasp of a young boy. That young boy was the new kid.

His name was Harry and he was only 15 years of age. For some reason, although he may not have looked very useful, they allowed him into their group. At least he proved to be a lot more useful than Jerry, that's for sure. Many of the others knew him has thief, mainly because he was the one who managed to steal all sought of valuables without anyone noticing and without any casualties. He wasn't very built for his age, but he used this to his advantage. He was light on his feet and could sneak past a dozen men without one of them even noticing.

"Hey! Watch out there buddy! Wouldn't want to blow my head off on such a fine day now would we?" he said as he slipped through the men of his group to reach his bunk.

"Damn it boy! You almost gave me a goddamn heart attack," Travis proclaimed has he lowered the handgun back into his pocket. "Damn kids," he murmured as he returned to his seat leaving Jerry on the floor.

"The hell you doin' out 'ere. I heard you had orders from the big guy." Fred said as he leaned on the old wooden table in the middle of the room.

"Don't worry, I've done it all," Harry said with a pinch of hesitation. He tried not to show it, but he was lying. The "big guy" or otherwise known as his boss assigned him to a few jobs outside the compound. This included look out duties, searching for food and basically searching for anything that may be useful for the group. Harry noticed that Fred knew he was lying however, and he quickly grabbed a dusty book from under his bed before speedily making it towards the exit. "Well, you know, I've got a lot of reading to catch on so I'm just going to…" Fred stood up and blocked the path to the exit making sure that Harry couldn't escape.

"You aint goin' anywhere little boy," he muttered as he lifted his fist and cracked his knuckles hoping to intimidate Harry.

"Fred!" a voice echoed from the hallway outside the exit. "Damn it, how many times have I told you to leave that boy alone?" The silhouette of a large man entered the room. He walked forward pushing Jerry aside with his boot and making his way into the light. It was none other than the "big guy", otherwise known as Adam.


	2. An Unexpected Mission

Chapter 2:

An Unexpected Mission

Adam. He was bold and ruthless yet intelligent and strategic and he helped to create the group they were today. The group may be small and insignificant, but this man somehow made all the others not only survive, but thrive. How he did such a thing? No one in the group knew the answer except for him, but they were happy that way.

He began walking towards Harry; anticipation filled the cold dark room as his footsteps sounded ever so closer. He was unpredictable to say at the least and this fact scared every single one of the others in the group, including Fred.

Harry gulped and wiped his forehead with the leftover linen from his sleeve as sweat poured down from his head. Everything became silent, every man could feel his own heart beat in his chest and his lungs expand and compress with every breath.

"Do we have a problem 'ere?" Adam muttered as he snatched the half empty whisky bottle from Fred's hand and continued to pour it in the general direction of his mouth, letting the rest fall to the ground.

"Well, do we have a problem 'ere?" his voice seemed to deepen along with the mood within the room. Fred readied his dry lips to speak up.

"I-It's Harry sir! He thought he could…" before Fred could finish his sentence Travis kicked him in the knee as inconspicuously as he could. Unlike the others of the group, Travis grew to like the new kid, mainly because he could relate to him. He was once the new kid of the group himself and he knew the troubles Harry would have to face.

Adam threw the whiskey bottle to the ground and it shattered sending pieces all across the floor, definitely not impressing Fred. The boss turned to face Harry with killer eyes and Harry knew what was to come next.

"Harry…" Adam spoke up and gestured towards the door attempting to lead Harry out and into his office. Harry's face darkened and he stood up straight and begun walking towards the door. For him, it seemed like everyone was watching him as he marched out of the door, Adam at his back.

He was wandering what punishment he would get today. Harry, being what some would think of as a thief, had his mischievous ways and had gotten in to trouble beforehand. He once had stolen a gold necklace from the boss's safe and managed to keep it for three whole weeks before having Adam turnover the entire place looking for it. Adam managed to find it in Jerry's pocket in what seemed to be Harry's attempt to escape the penalty, but Jerry doesn't steal.

Usual punishments were hanging from the feet up on the flag pole that protruded out of the top of the compound, being locked in the basement for two whole days if it was really bad and for the really, really bad ones?

The worst would be known as Gary's fate. Why? Gary used to be part of the group, loyal and friendly. One day Gary found what seemed to be a flare gun on one of the search missions. He hid this in his pocket and when he got back to the compound he was eager to show everyone his new toy. Unfortunately, the others wanted more than just a look of the flare and one thing led to another.

Soon Gary found himself fighting over it with Fred outside the compound when all of a sudden Gary's hands slipped and he pulled the trigger of the gun, releasing a bright red flare into the air. What was more unfortunate is that it was night and the flare was visible to almost any bandit and infected in the area.

What came later were waves of bandits attempting to capture the compound. Eventually the group managed to fend them off but with much loss. Adam became curious as to how they attracted so many bandits. Fred told him that Gary released a flare from the compound and showed Adam the hidden flare gun under Gary's bunk.

The boss was infuriated and immediately grabbed Garry with one strong hand dragging him across with compound and out. A few minutes later they reached their destination which was a large tunnel leading to the subway system.

He threw Gary down the stairs who tumbled helplessly until he reached the bottom with a thud. The boss looked at him once more with killer in his eyes and shut the way out with a large crate. All that could be heard from the subway as he left was the screams of Gary and the roar of a bloater.

Harry felt his stomach twist and turn as he thought about this last punishment. _Could this be how I die?_ He thought to himself. Harry wasn't eager to find out so he just left it and continued walking towards Adam's office.

His office was large and decorated with various different banners, however it still almost looked as run-down as any other room in the compound. There was a large desk in the centre with a comfy chair that had been torn to shreds by what looked like some sought of vicious animal. There were books lying all over the place and various documents waiting to be read and uncovered, however they were untouched ever since Harry saw the place for the first time.

Adam sat down at the desk and gestured for Harry to sit on a worn seat placed diagonally to the desk facing the sunlight from the window. At first, it nearly blinded Harry but he eventually got used to the light and could see Adam clearly.

"Alright then," Adam spoke first. It was the norm anyway, to let Adam speak first above all others. "I have a little mission for you my boy," he said with a slight smile upon his face. Harry just nodded as he did not want to say anything to offend the boss. In fact, saying anything at all could offend the boss anyway.

Adam stood up from the chair and began to pace around the room. "The way I see it, you are a capable young fella," he continued, "And I feel it is best to perhaps assign you to a mission a little more suited for such skills."

Harry knew that basically meant he was getting promoted; at least that's what the others thought anyway. He didn't understand the concept though. Apparently a higher likeliness of getting murdered meant you were higher in the ranks. Of course there wasn't any increase in any of the pay you got, but you were more recognised around the group. "A True Hunter" they would say.

"Here's the thing," Adam began to explain the mission to Harry; "There's a certain person not far from the compound that interests me quite a lot." The 15 year old boy was tempted to question the boss, but he held it in with all his might knowing that if he did he could end up like Gary, maybe even worse.

"Thing is, he's not doing so well at the moment and might need a wee bit o' help," Adam continued, his voice deepening. "I need you to go over there and fetch him up. Then you trot your way back here and hand him in. You do this for me lad and you get extra rations for dinner!" The smile on his face seemed wolfish and haunted, not that he wasn't a wolfish or haunting person, he absolutely was.

Harry liked the idea of extra rations; everyone in the group liked that idea too. The amount of food they had been receiving was rather low and extra rations seemed like a godsend. "Alright, I'll do it," the words slipped from Harry's mouth without any hesitation. He wanted those extra rations; in fact he was willing to kill for those rations.

Adam pulled out a map from under the desk after he had walked around it twice before. He placed the crinkled piece of paper on the desk and pointed to a circled location on the map, an old book store. Harry immediately knew where it was as he had been there before many times to search for supplies and it's where he got the dusty book he still held in his hands.

The cover was worn but he could just make out the words on the front. _Powder Monkey: The Adventures of Sam Witchell_. He was fascinated in the idea of going to sea and becoming a buccaneer. Sometimes he even saw his own group as a bunch of sea worthy pirates. Definitely not part of the royal navy, that's for sure. In fact, there was nothing royal about his group at all, accept for the expensive alcohol Jerry seemed to gather.

"Alright boy!" Adam continued with glee, "Don't disappoint me." The boss then gestured for Harry to walk out of the room as he sat back down on his comfy chair and continued to look at the map. Harry left the room feeling somewhat happy, yet somewhat scared. He could get extra rations for this mission or he could get his head blown off.

Either way, he knew he had to continue with the mission if he didn't want to end up like Gary. He returned to the sleeping quarters, where everyone else had either left or had fallen asleep, and walked over to his bunk. There, he picked up his almost empty back pack and placed the book inside zipping it up tight.

"Well, I guess I'm off then," he mumbled to himself as he left the room and exited the compound more than ready to start and adventure outside.


	3. A Beautiful Day of Terror

Chapter 3:

A Beautiful Day of Terror

Harry had only been outside of the compound a few times before. He had preferred reading over anything else and spent most of his time daydreaming about all the stories he had read. He found it to be a lot better than being chased by a horde of infected or gun-down by a group of survivors.

Today seemed different though, it was a lot more peaceful and quiet than he had expected beforehand. The walls of the compound stood high above the overgrown grass casting a gloomy shadow on Harry as he made his way to the exit. He saw Travis and few other members of the group sitting outside on folding chairs enjoying a game of cards.

The entire group Adam had managed to raise was over 50 people strong and continued to grow every day. Harry noticed a few new faces in the groups of people out the front who all eyed him back as if he wasn't invited. In particular, he noticed a hooded man at the very corner of the wall who bent his head down as to remain incognito. He couldn't help but notice how alone he seemed, staying as far away from the other groups as possible.

"Maybe I'll talk to him another day," he murmured to himself as he reached the main gate of the compound. It stood much taller than the wall itself and had two towers on either side covered with rusty barbed wire. At the top were two men who held large rifles in their hands and continued to survey the outside.

A man leaning at the side of the gate stood up and began to walk towards Harry. He was the gate-master, or otherwise known as Brandon. Harry had never really seen him leave the compound himself. He was either resting at the gate or sitting on one of the fold out chairs at the front.

"So where are you going today Harry?" he asked peculiarly seeing that Harry did not really leave the compound without some form of company. Harry was also peculiar as to why he had no company at all on this mission, especially seeing that it seemed rather dangerous.

"The big boss is sending me on a mission?" Harry replied, hopeful to be let through straight away. If there was one thing Harry hated most, it was waiting.

Brandon whistled back as if to say he was impressed with Harry for his promotion. "Well you best be safe on your travels. Have a good one," he said cheerfully as he grabbed his hat and performed some form of salute.

Harry liked Brandon. He was a lot easier to deal with than the other people of the group. Brandon understood Harry and they had built a friendship over the past few weeks.

The gates roared open as two old, scruffy men pushed each side towards the outside. Particles of rust were emitted from each of the doors as the smashed into the sides of the wall. All of a sudden a cooling breeze roared through into the compound.

The road leading out from the compound twisted and turned into a city full of half destroyed buildings and skyscrapers. Roots of trees followed the cracks that spread across the road. Ruined cars littered the pathways and continued endlessly down the city. The earth had reclaimed its land and had grown over the city.

Harry had never seen the city before the apocalypse, or otherwise known as the cordyceps outbreak. He had always tried to imagine what it would be like, people going about their daily routines, cars bustling around the city and bright lights everywhere at night.

The gates behind him closed with a loud bellow which echoed across the city. He was outside once again, though this time it felt different. He wasn't searching for supplies and he wasn't with anyone else. He was alone. "Well, I best get moving then," he murmured to himself as he began to walk down the long winding road.

Harry thought of the city as a gigantic playground. He loved to explore and most of all loved getting to his destination on an alternative route. Instead of taking the many roads that connected to each other he would jump from building to building, fence to fence and try to be has high as he could possibly go before getting to his destination.

The route he decided to take was filled with small townhouses that continued to follow the road for as far as the eye could see. "Perfect" he thought to himself as he got ready to run.

He started on the smallest townhouse which had a flat roof with nothing but a few antennas and different machines. He ran over to the edge where there was a small dent on the top and he launched off and landed on another flat townhouse a few metres lower than the first.

With one hand he lifted himself over the many different obstacles that littered the roof, spinning and turning, moving ever so faster. When he came to the edge he noticed a large open window on the side of the next townhouse which was directly in front of him.

He charged with all his might and launched off the side of the first townhouse, lifting his legs close to his body and hugging them with his arms. He flew straight through the window by just a few inches and rolled along the floor of what looked like a bedroom. He looked forward to see another clear path in front of him. The wall at the far end of the house had been blown out and it reached into the garden of the next house.

_Easy_

He charged again, but this time jumping a few metres away from the edge yet landing only a few inches away from the opening. This launched him up into the air where he tucked his legs in again and threw his head forward, spinning in the air. When he had completed one full rotation he straightened his legs and landed on the grass, tumbling across the garden.

It was amazing. Every moment of the spin was in slow motion and he felt the cool breeze the moment he leaped from the edge of the building. It wasn't over for him yet, though. He continued running, picking up speed towards a low lying wooden fence which he easily leaped over without any support from his hands.

He continued towards a much higher wall made from stone leading out to the road. He jumped moments before he would have hit the wall, grabbing the very top sturdily with his hands and lifting his feet up onto the wall. He then pulled upwards as if he was pulling the wall down towards the ground and lifted his feet up above the wall and over.

He had expected the landing to be solid, but it proved to be a lot worse than that. There was a small slab of cement protruding from the wall which he had only noticed once he was falling to the ground. He didn't have enough time to lift his legs and they soon got caught, launching his upper body towards the ground. Quickly, he angled his body so that he wasn't going to land on his head.

He felt a sharp pain on his shoulder as he crashed into the ground. He yelled and cried out as the pain continued to rise. At first, he had thought that he broke something but was able to get up and move his body normally after a while. The pain still throbbed in his shoulder and he had received a large gash on the side of his arm which bled profusely. "Damn it," he cursed at himself as he placed his backpack on the ground and attempted to search for any bandages with one arm.

_Bingo_. Luckily, he hadn't forgotten to pack them and he quickly began to wrap them around the gash created on his arm. That wasn't the end of it though. As he wrapped the worn bandage around his arm he began to hear a faint 'click' sound echoing from the distance. "Infected," he muttered as he finished applying the bandage and lifted his back pack over his shoulders.

He spun his arm a few times hoping to relieve what pain was left but he knew he was wasting time. He had seen the infected beforehand, but had never actually fought one. He hated the thought of ever having to face-off with one of them.

Harry had always managed to get his hands on various different books and journals on his travels with others from the compound. He remembered how in almost every journal it mentioned runners, stalkers or clickers and perhaps even all of them in one journal entry. Some people tried to illustrate their encounters by drawing tall deformed humanoids. Others would simply tell their story.

From all of that journal reading he understood one thing. You never, ever want to have to face one of the infected and if you ever hear clicking, run for your life. He had heeded these warnings for almost his entire life and was not prepared to have to face one of them.

Harry got back up and looked for a quick and easy route that got him to his destination and allowed him to escape from the infected he heard. He was fast and he knew it and he was not prepared to be made clicker lunch, he was sure of it. He noticed a road to his left which seemed to disappear through a forest of trees and shrubs, yet looked as though it was pointing in the general direction of the book store. It was either that or another road which led straight to the city centre which was filled with even more infected or survivors.

He immediately made up his mind and continued down the road into the forest as fast as he could, looking back to see whether any infected had followed. That was a bad idea. He wasn't looking where he was going and eventually managed to stumble over a pile of glass bottles and cans creating a loud sound has he fell. The sound seemed to echo for miles and he knew he was in a lot of trouble.

He could hear clicks to his left, clicks to his right and even clicks in front of him. His heart picked up speed and began beating out of his chest.

_You idiot Harry. What are you going to do now?_

Harry just stood there. He was shocked, hopeless. He knew there was no way he could escape this situation. He began contemplating different scenarios in his head. _What if I ran this way? No that wouldn't work. What if I…?_

It was all too sudden. Before he could take his plan into effect a human appeared from the shrubs, eyes glowing like the fires of hell. It felt as though he was staring into the very soul of Harry. It was a runner.

Harry immediately jumped backwards as he saw the runner rise from the shrubs. He quickly pulled out his only weapon from his back pack, a small pocket knife.

Harry had not trained much in combat. The training he did back at the compound was more like defending against punches and kicks and escaping from chokeholds. Fighting an infected seemed to be a whole different story for him.

He readied his arm, grasping firmly on the wooden handle of the pocket knife. The runner stumbled forward a little, continuing to eye Harry as it tripped over the twigs and sticks littering the ground. Harry backed up a little in the hopes to keep his distance from the infected, but it proved useless. The runner screamed and began sprinting towards Harry who held his knife read for the impact.

He waited, waited until he could have a clear shot. He waited until the runner was only a metre away from him when he finally swung his arm around. It was a failure. The runner had flailed its arms and hit Harry's pocket knife out of his hands, the knife resting softly on the overgrown grass. The runner launched forward grabbing his chest and pulling his neck towards him for a bite.

_Slash!_

The runner's eyes rolled back into its head which dangled slightly from its half torn neck. Blood splattered across the grass and continued to drip on Harry's chest and the infected quickly fell upon him. Harry pushed him off with the rest of his strength and looked up to see the silhouette of a small man holding an axe in front of the sunlight that had managed to poke through the canopy of the trees.

"David?"


	4. My Good Friend David

Chapter 4:

My Good Friend David

If there was anyone from the compound that Harry would consider to be his best friend, it would have to be David. He had gotten along with David ever since he had officially become part of the group.

The friendship mainly grew because they were the same age and had not experienced the world before the outbreak, so they had a lot to talk about. Every afternoon it seemed, they would spend their time together reading over books and journals left behind before the outbreak trying to picture the world as it was told from the entries.

David was a skilled artist, at least that's what Harry thought. He always fascinated by David's drawings of cityscapes not reclaimed by nature or filled with hordes of infected and survivors. He drew tall towers filled with shining windows reflecting the beautiful landscape around them. He drew all the people, all different sizes, socialising and walking around the streets and the children playing together in the luscious parks that filled the empty spaces of the city.

The fact that Harry had found him this far away from the compound confused him greatly, but now was not the time to hover over that topic.

David lifted harry up onto his feet, brushing the dust and grass lightly off the sides of his shoulders. "C'mon, there's a safe-house not too far from here. Follow me!" he said with utter determination.

Harry quickly looked over his arms and the rest of his body to make sure he didn't have any bites, and then followed David who was already a few metres ahead of him. The forest of trees seemed endless, as if it was trying to trap the two 15 year olds in. Shrieks and clicks came from almost every direction, yet they could see neither runners nor clickers.

The forest eventually gave in to a stone fence similar to the one Harry had fallen from before. "You right to climb?" David said as he readied himself to boost Harry up. The pain still throbbed in Harry's shoulder, but it wasn't anything that could stop him from climbing.

"I'll be fine," he said with the most courageous face he could pull. Harry definitely didn't want to show David that he was weak, especially seeing that David was the person who taught him the art of free-running, or what people 20 years ago used to call parkour.

David nodded and began to climb up the wall and over. Harry followed, this time watching where he was falling before landing on the other side. Luckily there was no obstacle in his path and he continued to run behind David as he led him down the road.

Harry was tempted to look back; he could hear the sounds of the infected on their trail, but he sure as hell didn't want to trip over something in the way again.

"There it is!" David pointed towards a somewhat run-down store on the corner of an intersection. It was only a few hundred feet away, but Harry could already feel himself growing tired and breathless.

_C'mon! Just a few more! I'm not going to become some clicker's lunch!_

Harry regained his energy and began to run beside David himself. Only a few metres were between them and the book store, they were on home-stretch.

"C'mon! Just a little more!" David yelled. The exhaustion was evident in his voice.

David quickly opened the wooden door to the shop and gestured for Harry to run in who gladly followed. Turning around to look, David saw the horde of infected that had gathered behind them. It was like nothing he had ever seen. There were at least a hundred, maybe even two hundred he thought to himself.

He shut the door and walked over to a bookshelf that had been placed right next to the door. "Here, help me!" he said to Harry who was watching from the sidelines. Harry ran over and they both pushed the book shelf over the entrance.

What came next was the sound of a hundred infected outside, some violently bashing the door hoping to get inside. The bookshelf almost rocked off balance, but eventually the bashing stopped. Pure silence followed for at least 10 minutes afterwards.

Both Harry and David were breathless and speechless. Partly because of the terror they had just gone through, the other part due to their disbelief of their survival.

"Man. That was a hell of horde wasn't it?" David chuckled, after all being sad wouldn't help the situation. They both laughed sitting down on a few crates they had found inside. "Welcome to mi casa!" David said, stretching his arms out wide as if he was welcoming Harry into a mansion.

"So this is where you've been holed up," Harry said, surprised that David was still alive. He had heard that David was lost on one of the supply missions sent out a few weeks back. Harry had some feeling that he had survived, he couldn't lose his best friend after all.

"Pretty much," David said, looking down towards the ground as if he was hiding something.

"So why then?" Harry asked as he looked around the store. It seemed familiar in some way. The walls were covered in book shelves and old ruined books and the floors were littered with different pages. "Why didn't you return to the compound?" he asked, hoping to receive an answer.

"Because…" David hesitated. "It's all because I was scared, OK?"

Harry snickered. He knew David as a brave person, or at least a lot braver than him. He looked around again, trying to remember why the store seemed to be familiar. He noticed a book on the floor right in front of him. The title read: _Powder Monkey: Adventures of Sam-_. The rest had been torn off. He finally recognised that this was the book store he had been to and retrieved his book of _Powder Monkey_.

The book store was where he was sent to retrieve a certain person, so what did that make David?

"What are you scared of, then?" Harry asked David wondering whether he was the person he had to retrieve.

"I don't know, it's just," David sighed and took a deep breath, "Don't you think the boss would hate me for leaving the group?" he finally spoke.

"Why would he hate you?" Harry continued with his questions. "For all we know you could have been kidnapped in the time and finally released!" Harry sighed, looking towards the book on the ground.

"Look, I was sent to retrieve you," Harry spoke. David couldn't understand whether he should have been happy or sad.

"I highly doubt the boss would hate you." Harry said looking up towards David. "Remember, we're a group. We'll always stay a group. We need each other to survive!"

David looked upwards towards Harry. "Do you promise then?" he asked Harry who was confused of the context. "Do you promise that nothing bad will happen to me if I return?" David continued.

Harry had made a few promises before in his life. He had remembered a conversation he had with Travis a while back. "Promises are only good for one thing, ruining a friendship." Travis' words clouded Harry's mind as he tried to think of what he should say to David.

After all, he thought, Travis was a bit of an idiot.

"I promise."


	5. A Desperate Climb out of Darkness

Chapter 5:

A Desperate Climb out of Darkness

"It's getting dark," David said as he placed an old book on the fire that he had started in the middle of the bookstore. It flickered orange, glimmering in the two boy's eyes. "I doubt we'll be able to find our way back in this darkness."

Harry nodded in agreement. Neither of them had any flashlights and if they were to be attacked by another infected the only weapon they had was a rusty hatchet. Harry cursed at himself for leaving his pocket knife on the grass when he was running away from the infected. He felt scared without something to protect him, he felt useless.

The infected seemed to have moved away, but Harry still felt as if he was being watched by one. He would hear slight breathing behind a bookshelf, but when he looked there was nothing there. David thought he was crazy. He couldn't hear anything except for the fire burning in the centre of the store and Harry's constant heavy panting.

"Would you calm down?" David said, pointing towards a spot next to the fire. "There's no one here, trust me." David's words calmed Harry and he eventually sat down next to him watching the fire. This only made it worst.

Harry could feel vibrations in the floor, as if something was moving around yet he could see nothing. "There's something here! I know it!" he turned to David who was half asleep watching the fire.

"Calm down! I don't hear a thi-," David was stopped in his tracks. They both heard a book shift from one of the bookshelves in front of them and drop to the floor with a thud as well as a few light footsteps echo across the room.

"What the hell?" David turned to Harry with fear evident from his facial expressions. They were being watched, they were being hunted. They were being stalked.

David picked up his hatchet which he had placed next to him on the crates. The blade scraped across the top of the wooden floor as he walked forward. He grabbed a large splinter on the floor and lit it, holding it over the fire. The room was filled with suspense. Harry shivered in his skin as he watched David progress slowly forward to the labyrinth of bookshelves. Eventually he disappeared and all Harry could see was the light trailing behind him from his makeshift torch.

The darkness seemed to close in around him. He picked up a splinter on the floor and firmly grasped it in his hands, waiting for the worst to happen.

He thought he could see a figure in the darkness. It just seemed like a person standing there, looking through the books. It was no person though. It twitched violently as if it had the energy from 200 coffees.

"David!" Harry cried in fear. His voice echoed around the room, giving away his position.

Out of the darkness the figure rushed towards Harry and leaped, pushing him off the crates. Harry looked up in fear and saw the deformed face of an infected. He couldn't tell whether it was a runner or a clicker, but it was not the time to think about that. He firmly held the splinter in his hand as the creature rushed forwards.

It had all seemed hopeless. He was on the ground watching as it leaped on top of him and viciously clawed at his face with its blunt nails. Harry attempted to push it away with one hand has he readied his other for the blow. He felt the saliva drip onto his neck as the infected beast drew ever so closer for a bite. With the splinter in his hand he threw his arm around.

The splinter became lodged in the infected creature's neck, soaking the blood which soon began to drip lightly on the wooden floor. It stood back, flailing its body in pain and screaming as Harry watched from on the ground. Eventually it ceased movement and crippled on the floor.

He quickly checked himself for scratches or bites and was sure that he hadn't received any, heart beating a million times faster than it should have. He looked over to the side and saw David in the distance wrestling with a similar creature.

"David!" Harry stood up immediately, grabbing a small plank of wood as he did, rushing towards the infected. David was pushed onto the bookshelf as the infected tried to bite his tender neck.

Harry swung his arms as he came close enough and knocked the infected in the head with the wooden plank he held. It shrieked as it looked over to Harry and attempted to run. David quickly swung the hatched in his hands and hit its neck. The blade of the axe dug in half way through its neck as the creature gurgled and coughed, blood filling its throat. David dislodged the axe from the infected creature's neck and swung again, this time the axe at cut all the way through, decapitating the creature. Its head dropped towards the floor with a splatter of blood while its body crippled forwards onto the ground.

"Damn Stalkers," David muttered as he spat on the deceased body of the stalker he had just killed. "We need to get out of here. Who knows how many are left." He turned to Harry who was staring at the blood he had on his hands.

Harry had always thought that killing an infected would not nearly be as traumatic as killing a person, yet he felt the blood rush out of his head and his arms and legs go numb.

"C'mon Harry! We've got to get out of here as quickly as possible!" David yelled, shaking Harry's shoulders. Harry soon came back to life after being lost in his mind and looked towards David. They could both hear the shrieks and screams of the infected nearby around the book store.

"Looks like we're going to have to take the rooftop," David said looking towards a staircase leading upwards. "Quick! Here!" David began to ascend the staircase.

Harry looked around for a few moments watching as the infected pounded against the glass windows of the bookstore, and then decided to follow David upstairs. When he came to the second floor of the bookstore he could see David looking around frantically for some way to get on top of the roof. Harry joined in, but it had seemed hopeless. There were no more stairs and there were no ladders. They way up didn't seem as easy as David had hoped.

Harry thought of an idea. He quickly ran to one of the windows and lifted it open to peer outside. He looked to the left and saw a rain pipe working its way towards the top. "How about we climb this?" Harry asked as he pointed out the window towards the pipe. David walked over and leaned out to see what he was talking about, eventually sticking his head back in and pacing around the floor.

"No, it's too dangerous." He muttered as he tried to think of another way. They both stopped as they heard the bookshelf which had been placed in front of the door fall over and the screams and shrieks of the infected inside the building.

"This isn't the time to argue!" Harry said as he climbed out the window and latched onto the pipe leading upwards. David looked surprised as he watched Harry's feet dangle outside of the window slowly making their way up.

"Alright, you called it!" he said as he too climbed out the window. Harry was already at the top of the roof when David began climbing, the pipe swaying unsteadily as he climbed.

"C'mon you can make it!" Harry said as he reached down for David's hand that was nearly at the top. The pipe creaked and swayed more, the bolts holding it to the wall loosening. David tried one last time to grab onto Harry's hand and leaped upwards from the pipe.

Harry grasped David's arm as the pipe leaned backwards and fell towards the ground.

"I've got you! Don't worry!" Harry pulled David up, helping him over the roof. They had done it. For a moment they just sat down in disbelief after having survived it all.

"Should we go now?" Harry asked David who was pacing around breathless.

"Alright."


	6. How to Cook a Human

**Authors Note:**

Hello my fellow FanFictioners! Lately I have been wondering whether I should continue this story and eventually I thought I might as well continue it, mainly because it just seems like a story to me that shouldn't stop now, at least not before the major parts. So here is Chapter 6 for you and one of my favorite chapters to write so far. Sorry for the wait and please enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 6:

How to Cook a Human

The trip back to the compound was short and quiet. After-all, what else could they talk about. The encounter with the infected had left them speechless and exhausted, especially Harry. David had fought the infected beforehand and managed to get over it pretty quickly, but Harry continued to think about it.

_I just killed someone. What if he was still there without the ability to control his body? What if as I plunged the splinter into his neck those screams were actually his?_

"Hey," David said looking back at Harry who was just standing in the middle of the roof looking at the ground. They had travelled pretty far from the bookstore now, but they were still in the collection of townhouses.

"Look," David said looking towards Harry who turned around to look back. "I know you're going through a lot right now, I mean…" David hesitated to continue his speech. He was confused as to what he would say next and whether it would get Harry back up onto his feet.

Harry scratched the back of his head and looked back at David. "What if the people were still there? What if they had no control over their body?" Harry said as if tears were about to fall from his eyes.

David hesitated for a second looking for something around him to lean on. He had a feeling this conversation would be long. "Look. You might think they're still in there but they're not." He said as he stood comfortably.

"Can we please talk about this later? What matters now is that we need to get back to the compound in one piece." David said with a pinch of annoyance in his voice. He turned around and began hopping from one townhouse to another.

Harry looked up to him has he pounced from each building and nodded as if David had eyes at the back of his head. He quickly caught up to David and they both leaped from building to building.

They could see the compound in the distance, the bright beam of the searchlight scanning the road ahead. They were both incredibly hungry with only the loud grumble of their stomachs to listen too.

"Man! Haven't been here in a while," David said as he crossed his arms and looked out towards the compound. Harry chuckled and stood next to him, leaning against the small concrete fence on the top of the townhouse which had barely balanced itself along the side.

"Well, I guess we best get going. I wonder what they're having tonight for dinner." David said excitedly as he hopped over the edge of the townhouse and began running towards the road leading to the compound. Harry smiled and continued with him. He was ready for those extra rations; there was no doubt about it.

Each member of the group had to hold a red card with a specific marking on it. These cards ensured that they were allowed back into the compound. They implemented this idea ever since their numbers grew more than 20. The more people there were, the more the gates-men had to remember and eventually they began forgetting.

David and Harry approached the front gate of the compound, the searchlight following their every step. Grasping the red cards in their hands they held it up to the light. They heard people call out from the compound and run across the metal stairs of the walls. Eventually the massive doors of the compound roared open as two shaggy men on each side pushed it with all their strength.

"Home," David whispered as him and Harry walked forwards into the compound.

"Ah! You're back!" The two boys turned around to where the voice came from. Harry knew it was no one else but Travis. The old man walked towards him and gave him a somewhat friendly pat on the back.

Travis turned over to look at David who was standing awkwardly behind Harry. David hadn't really socialised with much of the people in the compound. In fact, he only seemed to talk to Harry and he never really showed up around the others. He'd usually spend his time reading a book outside the walls. How he got out so easily? Harry didn't understand.

Travis looked back towards Harry and invited him to walk towards the dining room. It wasn't much, just a few makeshift chairs and one small table in the middle. Most of the people were forced to sit on the floor and some weren't allowed to eat at all. Harry followed Travis while David remained behind them as they talked.

"Boss says he's got a surprise for us tonight," Travis said with a smile on his face as he waved to some other members of the group who they passed. "Way I see it, it's going to be what we eat, and it better be fuckin' good!" Travis and Harry laughed as they continued through the entrance of the main building.

The boss walked through the corridor and straight up to Harry with the same wolfish grin he had earlier that day. "My boy!" he yelled with what seemed to be fake glee. "I see you have the person intact," he pointed towards David who was still awkwardly behind Travis and Harry.

"I'll take him off your hands for now," he gestured for David to come over. David was hesitant at first, but Harry assured him everything was ok and shoved him forward with one hand. "You deserve a bit o' rest. We got a surprise tonight for dinner, and in your name might I add!" The boss smiled again, patting Harry on his back and then walking towards the kitchen with David following.

"See you at dinner David!" Harry waved at David who walked off into the kitchen as the doors shut closed. _Must be helping out with the cooking I guess_.

"You'd probably want some restin'." Travis walked off into the dining room which was crowded with hungry men ready to eat anything that would appear on their plates. Harry walked up the stairs and towards the sleeping quarters which was empty by now. He unzipped his backpack and tipped it above his bed allowing all the valuables to fall out onto the mattress.

He managed to collect a few things on his trip to the bookstore and back. 10 oddly shaped stones, an ornate knife which looked as though it was used for opening letters and such, a few books of different sizes and shapes and an interesting shard of glass which looked as though it belonged to some sought of figurine. He looked at all his collectables once and then moved his mattress to the side revealing a loose floor board.

After having lifted the floorboard he placed each of his collectibles carefully on top of a stash he had been piling for what seemed like forever. He dropped the floor board once he had finished and pushed the mattress back. For a time, he was happy. Not only had he saved his best friend but he had also managed to collect some interesting valuables. Not to mention, he was going to have extra rations tonight.

He climbed up onto his mattress and rested in a comfortable position looking up towards the ceiling and resting his arms behind his head. His eyes slowly closed as sleep came close.

His sleep wasn't as peaceful as he had hoped for after a long and exhausting day. Nightmares bombarded his mind as he tossed and turned on the mattress. He saw visions of the infected man he killed looking towards him with a whole straight through his chest where his heart would have been.

"Why did you do this to me?" the infected walked closer to him. Harry tried to move but he couldn't. His legs and his arms were numb and just flopped against the floor. "Why did you do this to me?" the infected drawing ever so closer. When it came just a few inches between Harry it disappeared into a cloud of smoke which blinded his vision for what seemed like hours.

Eventually the smoke twisted and disappeared revealing two figures in the darkness which seemed to be fighting. As they came into the light Harry could see it was David and an infected. "Please, don't do this to me!" the infected man cried as David swung at him with his axe.

"I don't want to hurt you. This isn't me," the infected cried again as the axe lodged itself into the side of his chest. Harry watched helplessly from a distance as the infected man fell to the floor screaming and crying, praying to be left alone.

David dislodged his axe from the infected man's chest and walked over to Harry who was still on the floor. "Why did you kill me?" David said as he inched closer to Harry.

"I didn't kill you!" Harry yelled as David was only feet away from him.

"Why did you kill me?" David lifted the axe above his head and readied himself to swing it.

"No!" Harry yelled as the axe blade flew through the air straight towards Harry's head.

_Crush!_

"Boy! Wake up!" Harry heard a voice as darkness filled his vision. "C'mon, get a grip!" He heard the voice again and his breaths started slowing down. A bright light blinded him for a few seconds and he felt himself regain consciousness. The whole room around him seemed to piece together in front of him.

"That's it. Nice and easy now," He looked over and saw Travis next to him who was helping him up and onto his feet.

"What… happened?" Harry asked as he sat up. His breath shivered alongside his body which shook the mattress beneath him.

"Aye, a bad dream was all," Travis said has Harry stood up onto his feet without any help. "Lighten up though, dinner's here!" Harry looked around for a second and then began to smile slightly.

_Extra Rations!_

He immediately walked out of the sleeping quarters and straight downstairs to the dining room. The room was filled with men talking, yelling and laughing. He looked around and saw the happy faces of every man as they chomped down on the food they had received. It looked like meat, and Harry was able to have extra!

He saw the boss at the table and a few other people he knew including Travis who had been just as eager to eat the food.

"My boy!" the boss yelled from the other end of the table. "Please! Sit yourself down!" he gestured for Harry to sit at an empty seat at the end of the table. There in front of him was a plate with two thick slabs of cooked meat, steam rising off it and into his nose. It smelt delicious and fresh.

He sat down and with one hand lifted a slab of meat into his mouth and he chewed the end of it. It was moist and warm simply melted in his mouth. It was definitely something he was willing to kill for. _No time for savouring though _he thought and he continued to chow down on the leftover meat.

It was a filling dinner, nothing like he had ever had before. It almost brought tears to his eyes, the way the meat tasted and looked so good. It was the first time in his life he had ever been full or at least the first time he had been this full. He scraped every last bit of meat off his plate and vigorously licked his fingers which were still covered in the meat's delicious juices.

The whole time he had been in the dining room he hadn't seen David. He was quite certain that David wouldn't want to miss out on such a meal like this.

He turned towards the boss who was picking the food off his teeth with his finger nails. "So where's David?" Harry asked, looking around to check again.

"I sent him off on a mission," the boss replied without hesitation.

"Already?"

"Aye! He's a capable young fella! Just like you, lad!" Adam replied, maintaining his wolfish grin from earlier.

Harry was certain that David wouldn't leave without giving him a goodbye or some note to say he was gone. They were best friends, after-all, and they couldn't lose each other no matter what. Harry stood up and walked out of the dining room, hoping to find some clue as to where he was.

He checked the sleeping quarters, nothing. He checked the front yard, nothing. He checked the storage, nothing. He even checked the bathrooms and still, nothing. He had almost given up until he saw a slight beam of light seep through the kitchen door.

"Maybe he's still in there,"

Harry walked over, looking behind him every so often as he did. No one was allowed in the kitchen without the boss at least. He said it was so that no one would steal any food. Once Harry got to the door he silently pushed it open enough to peep inside. There were no people inside so he continued, closing the door quietly behind him.

Pots and pans littered the bench tops and reflected the flickering light of a lantern placed in the middle of the kitchen. There was nothing but a few bloody knives and wooden blocks with leftover meat. No notes, nothing from David so far.

Harry walked around for a bit, hoping to find some sought of clue. Then he saw a large metal door at the very end of the kitchen. A sign at the top read "Meat Storage" in black pen. He looked through the window on the door and could see nothing. _'Might as well take a look inside'_ he thought as he inched the metal door open.

The light from the lantern seeped into the small room as the door opened ever so slightly and revealed something dangling from the ceiling. The unusual object looked as though half of it had been torn out and blood dripped from it, splashing on the cold floor. It was meat, Harry was sure of it. But it didn't look like any type of animal.

Harry opened the door further and walked closer to the body. Eventually the light covered most of its body and it was definitely no animal. Harry looked down at the head which dangled off the body and saw a familiar face.

It was David.


	7. The Great Escape

Chapter 7:

The Great Escape

Harry couldn't help but stare, eyes wide open, at the dangling body of David. At first he thought he was seeing things, he thought he hadn't woken up from the dream he had earlier. He pinched himself multiple times having remembered that's what the characters in his books did when they thought they were in a dream. Nothing happened; the bloody and mutilated body of David continued to dangle in front of him.

"David…" Harry whispered, silently hoping to get an answer, hoping that this was all just a joke.

"David!" he yelled as he just watched and waited for something, anything to happen. Tears began to trickle down his cheek as he began to moan out of sadness. He looked down at the ground and rubbed his eyes with both of his hands hoping that it would all just go away when he looked back up, but it didn't work. Nothing worked anymore for Harry.

He fell to the floor on his knees only for the tears to continue to pour out of his eyes as he choked on the sadness within. Then he realised something darker.

Not only had David been killed after he had promised his safety, he was served as food. There was no other meat in the room, just the remains of David. What was worse was that Harry had eaten that food, more of it than anyone else.

He vomited violently on the floor in front of him. Who wouldn't? After what he had just experienced, it was a sickening sight and only managed to sadden him further. Harry collapsed beside the pool of vomit on the floor, tears still pouring out of his eyes.

"Why?" he whispered. "Why did this all have to happen? Why does it have to be my fault?" Harry struggled to stand up on his feet, grasping onto the frame of the door as his weak legs pushed him upwards. He stumbled over to a bench in the kitchen with a sharp knife lying on the top. He threw his weak hands on the bench as he attempted to grab the knife, eventually pulling the sharp object off the bench and to his side.

The sadness began to fade away ever so slowly, but anger rose to replace it. The tears that were pouring out of his eyes before had stopped and revealed his red, fiery blue eyes. He stumbled across to the body of David which continued to dangle from the roof with the help of a thin piece of rope. Looking once more at the body he swung his arm over his head and sliced the rope leaving the body of David to cripple on the floor.

"So, I see you've found your little friend," a deep voice echoed from the other side of the kitchen. Harry turned around immediately, still grasping the sharp knife in his hand. He looked up to see the one and only, the boss.

"He was quite tasty, weren't he?" Adam said as he walked closer to Harry who still stood there holding his knife.

"You fucking monster," Harry muttered as Adam inched closer.

"It's not like we have a choice, boy," Adam continued looking at the kitchen counter top and wiping away some of the dust with the tip of his finger. "We wouldn't be here today if we hadn't been makin' decisions like this."

As Adam came close enough Harry swung the knife in his hand causing Adam to back away quickly without a scratch. "You come any closer and I'll cut your fucking hand off," Harry muttered, eyeing Adam.

"No needs to be angry now, just hear me out alright?" Adam said believing himself to be the innocent one of the conversation. "Your friend here wanted for this to happen. He saw the rest of us in hunger and he couldn't help it." The lies were almost recognisable by a toddler.

"Cut the bullshit," Harry muttered, readying the knife in his hands in case he needed to keep Adam away.

"Well, it looks like I can't really negotiate with you right now so I guess we'll change things up a little bit? Waddya say?" Adam said with a wolfish grin on his face. He lifted his arm over his head and behind his back pulling what seemed to be a large machete from a sheath on his back. The metal of the weapon sung as the sharp blade arose from its housing and presented itself in Adams hands.

Harry immediately knew he was outmatched but there was nowhere he could run. Adam stood between the exit and him and all he could do was fight. He had learned a little bit of combat from some of his friends in the compound beforehand. How could he even call them friends anymore? Did they know of this happening as well?

Harry couldn't dwell on the subject, at least not now. He waited; staring straight into Adam's eyes as they slightly circled each other, waiting for Adam to make his move. It carried on like this for almost a minute, but Harry knew he had more patience than Adam.

Adam lifted the machete over his head and swung it down with all his might. Harry saw his attack coming and quickly shifted to the side and watched as the machete bounced of the tiles of the kitchen. He used his position to his advantage and kicked Adam into a bench letting all the pots and pans fall to the floor.

"You little bastard!" Adam muttered as he swung again, this time from his side. Harry saw the attack coming and quickly ducked making Adam fall of his balance as the machete carried his arms to the side. Harry stood up again and swung the knife in his hands towards Adams belly which was exposed as the boss fell to the side. It was a direct hit.

A thin red line marked the spot where the knife cut through Adams skin and he whaled in pain as blood began to trickle down the wound. Adam struggled to stand back up and immediately eyed Harry with the anger evident in his facial expressions. Adam swung again from the side, this time standing so he would not get himself off balance. Harry ducked, just missing the sharp blade of the machete.

Harry began to rise up again but when he looked up Adam wasn't off balance anymore and was already preparing the machete for an overhead swing. Harry panicked and raised the knife in his hands up above his head as Adam's machete flew towards him. The two knifes clashed creating a loud cling as one of the knives fell to the floor beside Harry. It was his knife.

Harry fell to the floor and landed on his back looking up towards Adam who walked closer to give the finishing blow. "You see? You should have just listened to me and this whole thing could have been over in an instant!" the craziness of Adam evident in the way he spoke. "But I guess you wanted to do it the hard way so, I can't complain," Adam began to raise the machete above his head, ready to strike Harry straight between his eyes.

The moment the machete began swinging towards Harry he rolled over to dodge the blow and managed to miss the strike completely. The machete bounced of the tiles, this time leaving a mark on the floor as some of the tile chipped away. Once Harry had fully turned over he saw Adam struggling to regain his balance as the machete flew to his side from hitting the tiles. Harry noticed a small pot within reach and he quickly grasped it within his hands. He launched himself upwards and ran towards Adam swinging the pot as Adam was still trying to regain his balance.

The pot hit hard below Adam's stomach as all the air was pushed out of him. He fell to the ground on his knees and dropped the machete from his hands resting his head on the bench behind him. Harry dropped the pot and grasped the machete handle firmly in his hand, inching ever so closer to Adam who sat helplessly on the floor.

Adam looked up in fear as Harry spun the machete in his hand and walked closer. "It's strange, you know?" Harry muttered as he readied himself for a swing, "How I used to think you were the good guy," He swung the machete with the help of all the anger he had bottled up until now. The machete cut through the skin of Adams stomach leaving a tear in his shirt and a fine red line where the machete had hid. The pain took over Adam's body as he jerked violently and cried as blood filled his stomach.

"But I guess you just can't trust the good guy," Harry walked a little closer and swung again in the other direction, slicing through Adam's stomach again. "You just can't fucking trust anyone anymore!" Harry yelled as he swung the machete once again across Adam's stomach which was painted red with blood.

Harry knelt down in front of Adam who still managed to stay alive to endure all the pain. Harry looked at him and lifted the machete to Adams chin forcing him to look back. "All good things come to an end anyway, right?" Harry whispered as he stood back up and walked a few inches backwards.

"This is for David you piece of shit!" Harry swung the machete towards Adams neck. The machete tore through half of his neck as he coughed and choked whilst blood gushed from an exposed artery and dribbled down his body and to the floor. Harry pulled the machete out surprised that Adam was still living after his first strike. Without any hesitation he pulled back the machete and began to swing it towards the same area. The machete blade tore through the rest of Adam's neck allowing the head to flop to the floor with a bit of the neck attached to it. A stream of blood shot through the air from the artery in his neck and splattered across the bench and the floor. Adam's body soon collapsed next the head in a pile of glistening blood.

Harry dropped the machete from his hands stood there for a moment looking at the corpse of Adam which had now stopped bleeding. He had killed an infected and now he had killed a living person. It didn't feel as bad as the infected though. The fact that Adam had killed and prepared David to be eaten made Harry think he deserved to die.

Harry looked up to the flickering lantern on the bench which had remained intact for the entirety of the fight. He grabbed it with a bloody hand and walked over to David's crippled body which still lay upon the floor of the meat storage.

"I won't let them do this to you anymore," he said as he threw the lantern onto the tiled floor next to David's body smashing the glass that held the oil. The oil splashed onto the corpse and set on fire slowly eating the dead flesh away. Harry looked once more at David's body before turning around and running out of the kitchen. The men of the group were still down in the dining room singing and laughing. Harry knew it was time to get out of the compound before the others found out.

He quickly ran up the stairs and towards the sleeping quarters to where his mattress was. He saw his backpack still lying beside his mattress as he had left it. He lifted the bag up and over the mattress placing it to the side of him as he began to shove his bed to reveal his secret stash. Lifting the loose plank he revealed everything he had collected but knew he couldn't take it all. He grabbed all the cans of food he had collected, a torch with a small amount of juice in it, 2 small medical kits which looked as though they belonged to a car and of course a few books. After having packed it all in his bag he noticed something that glimmered underneath the pile of collectibles in his stash. He shoved away most of the valuables and revealed a small handgun.

Grasping it in his hand he evaluated it and wondered whether he should take it with him. He had never used a gun in his life and had only seen other people wield them. After quickly thinking, he placed the gun into his bag and also placed a few magazines of ammo he had also collected. He was content with the supplies he had gathered into his bag and felt ready to leave this place once and for all.

"You know, you're not going to make it out so easily," he heard an unfamiliar voice behind him causing him to turn around immediately. He saw a hooded figure in the darkness of the corner of the sleeping quarters. The figure walked closer to Harry until he reached the light from the dim light bulb in the centre of the room. It was the same hooded man Harry had seen before he left the compound that day. He looked like a young man, definitely a lot better looking than the other men of the compound. A scar ran from his right eye down to his chin and had seemed like it was there for years.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, wondering if the man had found out that he had killed Adam.

"They don't just let anyone out of the compound you know," the hooded man continued as he walked closer to Harry. "Not to mention, the rest are going to find out soon and they'll have this place locked down before you even reach the gates." The man reached down to help Harry up who was still sitting on the floor next to his backpack.

"I suggest you take a safer, easier route," the hooded man continued still reaching out for Harry to grab his hand. Harry hesitated. He couldn't tell whether he could trust the man or not, at least after what he had been through. "I'm not here to stop you. I'm here to help you," the man said as he continued to hold out his hand.

"Alright," Harry reached for the man's hand and was pulled up and onto his feet. He quickly grabbed his backpack and swung it over his shoulders ready to get out of this prison he once called home. The hooded man looked down the corridor outside the room to make sure that no one had been listening to their conversation. After he was sure of it he stepped outside of the room and opened a door to a large closet. Harry followed him and shut the door behind them.

"Now if we don't hurry those friends of yours will surely start noticing the blood spreading out from underneath the kitchen door, so I suggest we get a move on," the hooded man said as he looked towards the roof of the small room they were confined to. Like the room before, it was lit dimly by a small light bulb and was barely standing on the brittle walls that supported it.

"Here," the man said as picked up a long old broom from the side of the closet and lifted it towards the ceiling pushing a plank that covered a whole in the roof to the side. The man readied himself to boost Harry up into the roof which was black with darkness.

"You want me to go up there?" Harry asked as he looked up into the dark roof.

"Do you want to escape out of here?" the man replied still ready for the boost. After one deep breath, Harry decided to follow his orders and put his foot in the man's connected hands as he tried to lift him up into the ceiling. Harry managed to grab the edge of the hole in the ceiling and lifted himself up into the darkness. It was a perfect time to try out his torch and he quickly flashed it on, illuminating most of the roof.

"Now, there should be a ladder up there!" the man yelled from below as he looked up into the darkness. Harry looked around for a second, illuminating the dark corners of the roof until he found a metal ladder on the floor next to him. He quickly rushed over towards it and pushed the end towards the hole in the ceiling. Eventually the ladder fell down and landed in the closet allowing for the man to climb up. Once he got to the top he lifted the ladder up into the roof and placed it along the side. He then kicked the wooden plank back over the hole and looked towards Harry, blinded by the light emitted from the flashlight.

"Would you turn that thing away from me?" the man muttered as he covered his eyes with his left arm.

"Oh. Sorry. Right" Harry quickly turned away and continued to look around the roof.

"Alright now. There should be an exit somewhere here," the man scanned the inside of the roof looking for an exit until he found a small, squarish shape in the roof. "Here we go!" he said as he pushed the piece out of the roof and carefully placed it on the outside. "C'mon, through here."

Harry turned around and ran over to the opening within the roof that the man had just climbed through. He jumped over the small man-made window and landed on concrete that filled in the other sections of the roof of the compound. The man placed the piece of roof back and continued running along the concrete which followed the side of the main building. Harry followed him, suspicious as to where they would end up.

"Here we go!" the man gestured towards a roof which connected to another building outside the compound walls. Harry looked over at the steep roof and noticed a somewhat daunting fall to the ground. The man was already half way across the top of the roof when Harry looked back up.

"Hey, what if I fall?" Harry asked as the man continued down the roof.

"You won't fall as long as you don't look down,"

Harry carefully made his way up the first part of the roof and balanced himself on the top. The top was flat and easy to walk over but the rest of the roof was steep and led to an almost certain death. He tried to keep these bad thoughts out of his mind and he eventually crossed to the other side without leaning a bit off balance.

"See, you're a born natural!" the man said as he turned around and continued across the rest of the roof tops which remained flat.

"Wait!" Harry said, causing the man to turn around. "What's your name?" After all, Harry had already followed this man's escape plan.

"Neil."


	8. Neil's Safe-House

**Hello my fellow FanFictioners. Sorry for the late updates but there has been a lot going on lately so I haven't been able to write much. Today I will be going away for 3 days. After that I'll be back for 2 days before I go away for a week an a bit. On those two days I am here be sure to expect as many updates as I can as I will try to write on the 3 days beforehand. **

**Thank you for all being such wonderful readers!**

* * *

Chapter 8:

Neil's Safe-House

Harry had continued to follow Neil across the rooftops until dawn. The enormous orange sun rose above the horizon and poked through a small group of clouds that had collected at the bottom of the sky. The stars that littered the dark night sky faded as the sun reclaimed its home.

Harry stood there looking at how the sky lit up with the arrival of the morning sun and tried to capture the moment as best he could. It was not a common sight for him. He was usually trapped away in the sleeping quarters of the compound. He was glad to be finally free and he never regretted one bit of the escape.

Neil looked behind to see Harry standing a few buildings back, comfortably watching as the orange sun rose. "Hey!" Neil yelled cupping his hands around his mouth as to make sure Harry heard. "We're not that far away now, just a few more blocks OK?"

Harry quickly turned around and jumped from building to building before landing right beside Neil who just rolled his eyes and continued to run forward. Harry looked around for a second and then hastily continued behind Neil, hopping over the various obstacles that littered the roof on their way.

What followed was almost complete silence other than their light footsteps along the concrete roofs of each building. There were no birds chirping, there were no leaves rustling and there was no wind whispering. It was so quiet Harry almost began to hear his heart beat as he followed Neil for what seemed like ages.

"Yeah, a few blocks," Harry muttered as he attempted to catch up with Neil who didn't show any signs of exhaustion.

Eventually Neil had stopped in the middle of a building that led straight to a wide road below. Harry had been too busy catching his breath to notice the giant skyscrapers that surrounded him like great walls. When he did look up he saw a tall building which looked as though it was completely made out of glass. Most of the glass in the lower levels had been smashed out and leaves seemed to grow all over the base hoping to reach further up the building. It was like nothing he had ever seen before.

When Harry was at the compound he rarely travelled this far out on a mission and so he never really saw the city up close. He looked around again, watching as all the tall buildings seemed to engulf the sky and create shadows that looked as though they went on forever.

"Here, give me a hand with this," Neil said looking up towards Harry who was losing himself to the sight of the skyscrapers. Harry quickly looked down towards Neil who was attempting to lift what seemed like a large metal trap door. He walked over and positioned himself on the other side of the metal square. They lifted it with all the strength and placed it beside the large hole it covered.

"Alright, down here," Neil said as he jumped into the dark hole and landed on a wooden floor below. Harry looked at the dark whole thinking about the one they escaped out of within the compound. At least he wasn't going first this time and so he eventually jumped down the hole too.

Harry was immediately engulfed by the darkness and only had the hole in the roof as a source of light. A small light appeared in the distance of the room and eventually lit up the entire room to reveal a small room as well as Neil fiddling with a lantern.

"Welcome to my safe-house," Neil said as he spread his arms wide presenting the room. It was quite small and seemed to have no exit other than the hole in the roof. The door to the room had been covered in planks of wood nailed to the wall, as were most of the windows too. Each wall was covered in various different pages and documents like letters and journals. One wall in particular held a variety of photographs and pictures.

Harry walked up to the wall and examined the photographs further. To his amazement there was a photograph of Adam, his boss.

"Why do you have these pictures?" Harry asked examining the photos further.

"Ah," Neil walked over, picking up a red pen from a chair next to the wall. Once he had reached the collection of photos he quickly found the mug-shot of Adam and crossed it off with the red pen.

Harry stepped back and examined the entire collection of photographs noticing that most of them had been crossed off with a red pen as well. "Why are you crossing them off?" Harry asked as he looked confusedly at the wall.

"Well you see, they're dead," Neil said as he paced around the room and silently sat down on an old wooden chair in the centre.

"So you just take a photo of someone and when they die you cross it off? That's kind of weird," Harry said as he sat on a makeshift chair in the corner.

"Now what kind of person do you think I am?" Neil said, resting his arm on the side of the chair as he eyed Harry.

"A weird one," Harry said with a slight smile on his face. Neil laughed but what came out was more like heavy breathing.

"Alright then, let me tell you something," Neil leaned forwards slowly stroking the stubble of his beard as he did. "I was sent out by my group to make sure they died." The sentence mildly shocked Harry, but he was used to it in a world like this.

"So there are more of you guys?" Harry asked wondering whether he could join them. It seemed a lot better than travelling alone in a world full of infected monsters.

"That's right. We're holed up further to the bridge." Neil stood up ready to continue his story. "I was sent out a couple of weeks back to eliminate a few targets." He walked around the room looking towards the floor. "Now these aren't just any average men. These are the real baddies. They constantly threaten our defences at the bridge and are bringing nothing but bad to this lovely city."

Harry looked back up at the photo collection along the wall. He began to recognise a few of the men the more he thought about it. Some of them would sometimes visit the compound and have secret conversations with the big boss, at least that's what Travis told him. Harry had almost forgotten about Travis entirely after he had escaped. He wondered how he was holding up and what they were doing now that Adam was dead.

Harry continued to look through each of the photos and noticed one photo which was not crossed out and instead had a large red circle around it as if to say he was an important target or something along those lines. It was a scruffy man, blackish hair, seemed to be in his forties.

Neil followed where Harry was looking with his eyes and stood up to walk over towards the photo. "Now this here is an especially cruel man," Neil continued looking back towards Harry who was still sitting comfortably in the chair. "He only entered the city a few days ago and has already killed hundreds of my men."

Harry looked at the photo again and immediately began to see the killer in the man's eyes. He grasped onto the edge of his sit as he nodded for Neil to continue his story.

"Now, he's basically the last man on my list and I've managed to track him all the way through his travels here," Neil continued as he paced around the room. "My scouts have spotted him coming through a small intersection not too far from here," Neil put his finger on a map pointing towards the east.

"How about we make a deal," Neil walked over towards Harry who was still grasping tightly on to his chair. "Maybe you would like to help me out with this fella."

Harry looked back at the photo of the man and began to seem more killer in his eyes than Adam. "What do I get if I help you?" Harry asked glaring at Neil who had already walked over to the other side of the room.

"Well if you help me out I can get you to our base and have them take care of you over there. There's plenty of food, clean water and of course electricity. Neil said looking back towards Harry who began to think about it.

Food, water and even electricity, it was basically a deal Harry wasn't willing to pass up. Anything was better than travelling alone of course and he did need a home. However, if it managed to put himself in danger, he was going to have a problem.

"What do I have to do?" Harry asked continuing to glare at Neil as if he was about to be sent to his death.

"All you have to do is set up a few traps for me down near the intersection," Neil continued in a lazy voice as if the task was so easy a baby could do it. "My scouts predict he won't pass through there for a few hours so you have plenty of time."

Harry thought a little while longer, wondering whether it was all worth the risk. If the man was only a few hours away he had plenty of time to set up the traps and run off back to Neil's safe house. Though, who says he would get there in time? Who knows how many infected or bandits were on the route?

Eventually Harry came to a conclusion and stood up ready to speak his mind.

"You've got a deal,"


End file.
